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Earlier today, I praised the Evening Standard Awards for drawing people’s attention to forms and flavors of contemporary British film beyond the dressy heritage cinema that so many associate with the country. This morning, London’s Time Out magazine posted a fascinating feature that does much the same for the past: a wide-ranging list of the [...]
Time Out names the 100 best British films
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:38 pm · February 8th, 2011
Filed in: Daily
OSCAR GUIDE: Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:33 am · January 31st, 2011
The race for Best Original Screenplay is full of worthy competitors this year. Four Best Picture nominees and the year’s best screenplay period make up the field, and even if there are a few that should have been in the mix, I find it difficult to argue with what squeaked through in the end. The [...]
Filed in: Oscar Guide
Wish list 2010
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 11:08 am · January 24th, 2011
Tomorrow’s the big day. And there are always surprises. But rather than offer a space for predicting shockers, I thought I’d ask for your wish list picks. Name three nominations (in the major categories) that seemingly have no chance whatsoever, but are still in the acceptable realm of possibility, which would send you over the [...]
Filed in: Daily
INTERVIEW: ‘Another Year’ actress Lesley Manville
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 1:47 pm · January 3rd, 2011
Failing to turn on your voice recorder is any journalist’s fear when conducting a great interview. So after spending close to a half-hour with “Another Year” star Lesley Manville some weeks back, and having felt like it was one of the more enlightening and engrossing conversations I’ve had with an actor all year, you can [...]
Filed in: Interviews
1/3 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Fincher courts select press, Tarantino’s top 10, a dark Oscar season
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:46 am · January 3rd, 2011
• Steve Weintraub sits down with David Fincher (who got really choosy about who he’d talk to last week — again) to discuss “The Social Network” DVD release and other projects. [Collider] • Glenn Whipp writes up the dark tales of torment that lurk on voters’ ballots this season. [Variety] • Watch a 1991 Alka [...]
Filed in: Daily
Another word on ‘Another Year’
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:12 am · December 31st, 2010
I’m linking to this Top 20 Films of 2010 list on In Review Online for several reasons. Because I really like the site. Because I really like the list. Because I’m one of the writers they polled to create the list. Because their number one is perfect. And because they were kind enough to invite [...]
Filed in: Daily
12/22 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: The reclusive Charles Portis, ‘Avatar’ most-pirated, Harvey’s holiday ‘King’s Speech’ hustle
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:51 am · December 22nd, 2010
• On the language, cult following and press-shyness of reclusive “True Grit” author Charles Portis. [Speakeasy] • Mike Leigh discusses “Another Year” and why he’ll never make a superhero movie. [Movieline] • “Avatar” tops list of 2010′s most pirated movies. [New York Post]
Filed in: Daily
Best in show 2010: the year in superlatives
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:07 am · December 17th, 2010
The week, and with it, the bulk of my 2010 coverage, draws to a close today with a look at the best of the best. I’m offering up a personal list of superlatives, including most Oscar categories and some other fun fields thrown in for good measure. A tradition at this point. There will be [...]
Filed in: Daily
THE LONG SHOT: When you’re strange
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:05 pm · November 24th, 2010
(Updated predictions available here.) I shan’t often find room for Gaspar Noé’s name in a space ostensibly dedicated to the Oscar race, so bear with me if this seems an unlikely opening gambit, but inspiration for this week’s column began with a conversation about his fluorescent, drug-addled ghost story “Enter the Void.” A friend had [...]
Filed in: The Long Shot
LIFE WITHOUT OSCAR: 1993 and 1994
Posted by Chad Hartigan · 4:52 pm · November 23rd, 2010
Catch up with the idea behind this series here. 1993 was the year I first became interested in making movies and tracking box office. There are two words responsible for both and they rhyme with Yourassic Lark. The director of that beast would also helm our Best Picture winner that year, finally earning the Academy’s [...]
Filed in: Life Without Oscar
OFF THE CARPET: Giving thanks
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 9:41 am · November 22nd, 2010
As we move into turkey (or tofurkey, if that happens to be your speed) week 2010, it seems proper, if a tad bit obvious, to take a moment and give thanks. So in lieu of a proper analysis of the season’s progression this week, allow me to express my boundless, breathless appreciation for the following: [...]
Filed in: Off the Carpet
11/5 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Boyle on ‘127 Hours’ faintings, best in animated villainy, lead actresses must suffer
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:46 am · November 5th, 2010
• Steve Pond gets Danny Boyle’s thoughts on this rash of faintings at screenings of “127 Hours.” [The Odds] • Sasha Stone calls 2010 (so far) one of the best years for film in recent history. [Awards Daily] • “Megamind” gets Josh Wigler thinking about the best animated villains of all time. [MTV Movies Blog]
Filed in: Daily
Dr. Leigh and the women
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:50 pm · November 1st, 2010
I often hear Mike Leigh described as a great “women’s director,” though that’s really only half the truth. Vivid, probing male characters abound in Leigh films, often as vital counterpoints to female star turns (see Eddie Marsan in “Happy-Go-Lucky” or Timothy Spall in “Secrets and Lies”) but sometimes in center stage too: in “Naked,” David [...]
Filed in: Daily
‘King’s Speech’ leads BIFA nods, ‘Another Year’ snubbed
Posted by Guy Lodge · 6:48 am · November 1st, 2010
Mike Leigh has long bemoaned the fact that he gets more respect from American awards bodies than those in his homeland. He received further proof of that this morning, as his broadly acclaimed new feature, “Another Year,” was snubbed in the top category at the British Independent Film Awards in favor of, among others, Matthew [...]
Filed in: Daily
THE LONG SHOT: British reserve
Posted by Guy Lodge · 8:07 pm · October 28th, 2010
“The British are coming!” crowed screenwriter Colin Welland from the Oscar stage in 1982, hoisting aloft his just-awarded awarded statuette for “Chariots of Fire” – and anticipating one of the bigger upsets in the history of the Best Picture race, as the modest British sports drama upended Warren Beatty’s grand political epic “Reds.” His rallying [...]
Filed in: The Long Shot
10/20 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Complete Metropolis’ coming to TCM, buzz for Leo, Cameron on the usual talking points
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 10:09 am · October 20th, 2010
• Jeffrey Wells reminds of the forthcoming TCM airing of the restored “Metropolis” and one hour documentary “Metropolis Refound.” I’ll…be…there. [Hollywood Elsewhere] • Steve Pond conveys positive word on Christian Bale and (as reported for months here) Melissa Leo’s performances in “The Fighter” from ShoEast. [The Odds] • Naomi Watts on “Fair Game,” Valerie Plame [...]
Filed in: Daily
10/18 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Buzz for Rudd, Ebert chats up ‘Secretariat’ author, ‘Alice in Wonderland’ push for Best Pic
Posted by Kristopher Tapley · 8:41 am · October 18th, 2010
• Jeffrey Wells posts a reader review of James L. Brooks’s “How Do You Know” that claims Paul Rudd is a sure-fire Best Supporting Actor nominee, but I’d expect a lead campaign for him and buzz for Jack Nicholson in support. [Hollywood Elsewhere] • Steve Rose on the secret of the Winkelvi from David Fincher’s [...]
Filed in: Daily
Mike Leigh celebrates “hidden city” of London
Posted by Guy Lodge · 3:52 pm · October 11th, 2010
My attention was drawn to this article last week, but since the London Film Festival kicks off this week (and Mike Leigh’s “Another Year” will be competing for top honors there), now seems an appropriate time to link to it. Picking up on the role England’s capital city has played in a number of Leigh’s [...]
Filed in: Daily
